 Good morning Cal family and welcome to this year's Charter Day celebrations. My name is Eric Monzo And I'm a senior here at Cal and I'll be your host for this morning's event today We celebrate that 153rd anniversary of our University of California I'm excited to be kicking off this event in the virtual world and one in which we can welcome people from Berkeley Community all over the world to celebrate the University sister The University of California began in March 23rd 1868 when Governor Henry Hates signed an act catalyzing Audacious goal that California should have a public university one that would serve equally the children of immigrants and settlers Landowners and industrial barons that goal was solidified in 1973 when the Berkeley campus was developed and has grown since to a system that expands our great state March 23rd our Charter Day has long been a day to celebrate the birth of UC and all it has accomplished in pushing the boundaries of what is possible The first formal Charter Day was hosted in 1892 when Charles Elliott, President of Harvard served as a keynote speaker and since then We've had many come to speak about this special place. That is the University of California We hope today serves as a reminder all Reminder of all the people who have come before us and push us forward to look into the future of the University of California We stay true to our goal of our Charter every day making amazing contributions to the state of California and to the world All while uplifting generations of Californians And one way or another we're all part of this history that spans generations Now to celebrate our generations of Golden Bears Please enjoy our virtual class processional a showcase of the symbols of graduating classes of years past Let's watch the video now I always love looking all those class banners and I really can't wait for us to be able to do a full processional when we're back on the Berkeley campus And speaking of getting back to campus I do want to acknowledge that we've had an incredibly difficult year and I and we still have a challenge ahead of us before we Can return to life back to normal on the Berkeley campus to tell us more about the current state of our campus and where we're going Please welcome Chancellor Carol Chris for the Charter Day address Thank You Eric Good morning on So many levels Charter Day offers ample reason for celebration. It was on March 23rd 1868 that Governor Henry Hate signed legislation creating the University of California a year later Instruction for 40 students was underway at a temporary location in Oakland and work soon began on what was to become UC Berkeley The flagship campus of the world's finest system of public higher education What's more the animating vision and values for public institutions of higher education in general and the University of California in particular Were progressive and enlightened Even when viewed through a contemporary lens It was in 1862 during the Civil War that President Abraham Lincoln signed the Morrill Act Leading to the creation of our national network of public universities The intended purpose of these institutions known as the people's colleges was to provide an accessible system of higher education for all without regard to inherited privilege Here in California members of our very first legislature Envisioned a university that would serve equally the children of immigrants and settlers landowners and industrial barons Simply put Berkeley was established as a means to protect and promote democracy Advance the greater good and spread the blessings of an excellent education beyond the offspring of the elite Today we value and celebrate our identity as an engine of socioeconomic mobility As a center of resistance to the status quo As an institution animated by a determination to make the world a better place We prize and take pride in our support for social justice Diversity equity and inclusion Yet we cannot fully and authentically inhabit that institutional identity We cannot be who we collectively aspire and claim to be If there is not justice and a true sense of belonging for each and every member of our extended campus community And that is a goal we cannot fully achieve unless we examine Interrogate and confront our own institutional history of racism Our bias and discrimination towards members of communities of color And our disregard for the rights of Native Americans and the many profound wrongs they have been subjected to It was just over a week ago that we marked the one year anniversary Since we as a campus community Responded to the perils posed by COVID-19 by closing down all but the most essential in-person activities For me, this has been a time of reflection introspection and learning It's been painful to witness the extent to which the pandemic has exposed and exacerbated racial and socioeconomic disparities and inequities Like so many of you, I was appalled and outraged by the killings that took the lives of george floyd Amad Arbery and briona taylor While these are among the names and despicable incidents that dominated national news and discourse They are not by any means isolated Nor is the racism that underlies them This collision of crises offers us more than reason for reflection We have also before us I believe opportunities for reckoning and reconciliation And if we do not squander them This can also be a time of renewal and repair for our campus state and country As I consider what our university's future canon should look like As we begin to emerge from the pandemic's constraints and challenges I've realized that charting a course for where we want to go Depends on our ability to understand and learn where we have been And that is as true for the last 12 months At as it is for the last 153 years There can be no doubt that the composition and conceptualization of the public We were originally chartered to serve has dramatically changed In 1870, there were some 560,000 people living in california And 90% of them were white If our charter rested on an expansive notion of equal access and opportunity for all Our reality was far more constrained The members of our first graduating class the class of 1873 were known as the 12 apostles 12 men all white In fact, it would be another 32 years Until Charles Edward Carpenter became the first black person to graduate from Berkeley in 1905 In 1924, we named a campus building in honor of the brothers Joseph and John Laconte The latter a former president of the university Both the owners of slaves And it was not until 1852 that we provided tenure to David Blackwell The first black member of our faculty to achieve that status For years we've been in denial when it comes to our relationship with the indigenous people of california Recent research suggests that by 1878 the university knew that land upon which we sit Had once been occupied by members of the Yoloni tribe And there's evidence that our faculty club was built atop the site of one of their villages We have held far too long in the Hearst Museum Native American ancestral remains And belongings that are not rightfully ours As I reflected on and researched Berkeley's historical record of interactions and relationships with california's array of ethnic and racial communities I was struck not only by what I discovered But also by what I did not Despite our state's checkered and troubled past with members of all marginalized communities There's little in the way of historical records and writings that delve into our university's history with members of these communities I hope that this absence of knowledge and acknowledgement will be addressed as we continue our efforts to write the wrongs of the past These are about a few examples of the difficult truths. We must accept and interrogate For there is no other path to repair and reconciliation We no longer serve a state that is overwhelmingly white. In fact, our state is diverse to the extent that no race or ethnic group Constitutes a majority of california's population And that is a gift a blessing for a world-class university For I believe that Berkeley's excellence depends on diversity of thought and perspective Both of which are the result of and profoundly enhanced by the diversity of our campus community I am pleased that we're making progress to fully align our deeds with our words And our institutional identity We have unnamed buildings that honored those with racist paths A residential hall has been named in the honor of David Blackwell We have launched a concerted effort to accelerate and expand our repatriation of Native American ancestral remains And cultural belongings to the tribal nations We are in track to be a Hispanic serving institution by 2027 Last fall, we admitted the most ethnically diverse class in 30 years We have launched a broad range of initiatives to increase the diversity of the campus community We now customarily acknowledge that our campus sits on tribal land And that our university must be more accountable to the needs of American indian and indigenous peoples These are all steps in the right direction But there is more much more to do if we wish to serve the incredibly diverse and dynamic california public of If we want to ensure That every member of our community feels a true sense of belonging While the latest survey of students staff and faculty Show a strong majority in agreement that diversity equity and inclusion our values promoted at berkeley Perceptions of the campus climate were far from uniformly positive 25 of our friends and colleagues from marginalized groups reported that they regularly experience exclusionary behaviors That cannot stand We must provide equity of experience for all These values were front and center last spring as we responded to the pandemic with plans that were developed and implemented through an equity lens We were determined to provide equity of experience for all To offer care support and compassion for those in need And it is because of that approach not despite it that berkeley is weathering this unprecedented storm While upholding our commitment to minimize job losses ensuring broad adherence to essential public health guidelines And experiencing a renewed appreciation for our collective and individual resilience While we still face extraordinary budgetary challenges Our university remains strong We have protected the health of the community Sustained the continuity of instruction Preserved our research mission and adapted the public services we provide I have been in awe of our staff Who have gone above and beyond to sustain and support the excellence and scope of our academic programs As well as the services we offer to help support students academic success and well-being And here too reflection reveals lessons and understandings we can and must carry into the future We have through our individual and collective efforts shown how important the notion of community is to our campus And how essential the public research university Is to our country and our world Even as our students have been teaching us what it means to have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and enlightenment No matter the circumstances Our faculty have developed pedagogical muscles. They never knew they had Finding new and innovative ways to convey knowledge and love of learning As a result we see and are exploring new opportunities to implement remote learning strategies That support improved learning and outcomes for students even after the campus reopens for in-person instruction For example undergraduate bottleneck courses and large lectures Our examples for expanded use of remote learning can help reduce time to graduation Improve graduation rates while improving equity and quality By the same virtual token, we also see in remote learning opportunities Remote learning new opportunities for distinctive professional master's programs Earlier this week. I had the distinct pleasure of informing the campus that we're planning for a fall semester We're all but a very few large classes will be meeting in person Where students faculty and staff will be back on campus Our university will once again be suffused with the passion and purpose The electric energy and excitement our campus community is known for While challenges and uncertainty persist, there's an ever-brightening light at the end of the tunnel I believe that through our reflection on the past We shall emerge stronger Wiser and far more appreciative of those things large and small that we once took for granted I know that we can celebrate this charter day and at the same time Open our hearts and minds to an honest examination of our personal and institutional past To reflection on the historical and present day gaps between our words and deeds Between our stated values and the lived experiences of our friends classmates and colleagues For my part, I have renewed gratitude for the ties that bond us together And the role our university plays in our society and our lives I believe that Berkeley And all of you are uniquely equipped to meet the demands and opportunities of these times And I know there's no place I would rather be physically or virtually And so I say fiat looks and go bears Thank you so much Chancellor. It's always great to hear about where we've been as an institution What we're doing now to bring in the next chapter of Cal State Street. Thank you And now for my favorite performers on campus, please join me in welcoming the amazing university of california marching band Let's relative Thanks for watching that video. If you'd like to see more, please like and subscribe as always go bears Thank you so much cal band amazing as always and from home. Will you please join me in a cal band great on three? one two three Cal band great Awesome With that, I would like to thank you all for attending today's charter day celebration to mark the founding of our wonderful university It was great to be able to share this celebration of our proud history and legacy with all of you And Berkeley just wouldn't be the place it is without the support of amazing golden bears like y'all at home Again, happy birthday Berkeley. Have a great rest of your day. Remember to mask up and as always fiat locks and go bears